Home Sweet Home
by Midnight-in-Russia
Summary: Roy needs someone to help pay his mortgage. A roommate is the perfect solution! But who will he room with if his family lives in Xing? Why, Full Metal, of course! Eventual RoyEd. WiP. First chapter is up! DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.


Ed walked into Brigadier General Roy Mustang's office, wondering what he could possibly want so early in the morning. He wasn't due to come in until late into the afternoon, but it was nearly eight-thirty in the morning when the man had called his hotel room number.

He spotted the older man sitting at his desk, avoiding his stack of paperwork as usual. Ed walked about as fast as a turtle as he approached the desk; it was just too damn early!

"What'd'ya wa-ahhhh-nt now?" Ed asked, not bothering to stifle his yawn. "Not another mission, is it?"

"No, Full Metal.... This is a matter of rather _personal business_," the General looked uneasy as he talked.

"Oh...er...alright," Ed scratched the back of his head with his Auto-Mail hand. All of a sudden, he felt rather awkward standing up, so he walked over to the black leather couch and sat down.

"Forgive me if I seem rude, but you're still living at that hotel, am I correct?" Mustang probed cautiously, not wanting to upset the younger alchemist.

"Yeah...." Ed trailed off, not sure where the conversation was leading to.

"Then I have a proposal for you. Since I gave up the title of Brigadier General last year and became an enlisted man, my funds haven't been exactly...sufficient, as you can probably imagine. Dropping from Brigadier General to merely an enlisted man is a big difference as far as my paycheck goes...."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Ed agreed, inwardly urging Mustang to go on. He wanted to know what this was all about.

"So now that I've taken the position of Brigadier General again, my funds are still quite low. They want to make sure I won't drop the title again, so I have to earn their trust back by staying a General until my wages are sufficient," he continued, looking down at his clasped hands.

Edward stayed silent. Mustang sighed.

"My point is that I can barely afford the house I've been living in for nearly eight years. I need someone who gets a paycheck. Someone who doesn't have a permanent home. Someone who would be willing to help an old bastard in his time of need," he pressed on, hoping Ed would catch his drift.

"So," Ed said slowly. His brain was on overdrive. "You want me to...do...what, exactly?"

"Please help me out, Edward. Live with me. We'll split the mortgage bill fifty-fifty. You'll have a real house instead of having to pay for a hotel room weekly. Alphonse and Miss Rockbell can come visit whenever they want."

Ed didn't have to think for very long. The man drove a good bargain. He even said Al and Winry could visit! Al wouldn't be doing much visiting until his newly restored body was stronger, but in due time, Al would leave Resembool and visit for a few days.

As far as Ed was concerned, this was a good deal, even if it meant living with General Bastard for a while.

"But food and stuff...will I have to pay for my own? I think I can do that," Ed thought aloud, not actually asking Mustang.

"I'll pay for the food. I've got everything covered except for the mortgage bill. I'm just barely scraping by each month. It's getting too hard to continue paying that much money a month."

"And nobody else can do this? Not even Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Ed asked, wondering why the sharpshooter wouldn't help her commanding officer.

"She has her own home. I couldn't ask her to leave her home and come live with me. Besides...could you imagine my home life with her?" Roy asked with an amused glint in his ebony eye. Ed chuckled at this.

"Yeah, you'd be held at gunpoint all day and all night until you finished your paperwork," the blonde laughed.

"So what do you say? Will you help out an old bastard in his time of need?" Roy's only uncovered eye seemed to beg him.

"Yeah, alright. But only because you're going to end up homeless if I don't. If anyone asks about it, you kidnapped me, got it?" Ed gave him a serious expression, but his eyes were laughing.

"You got it," Roy stood up and stuck out his left hand.

Ed stood up from the couch and walked over to the desk, taking Roy's hand in his. He shook it twice and released it to turn away. He started walking out of the office and looked over his shoulder.

"And you'd better have more than one bed," Ed smirked, leaving the older alchemist chuckling.

'_Well, my life sure has taken an interesting turn_,' Ed thought as he walked out of Roy's office. He whistled a random tune as he headed out of Central HQ to pack his things.


End file.
